Tesla Model Y Launch Date Set For 2020, Hints Elon Musk

Elon Musk pledged to "burn" investors shorting Tesla Inc. and criticized analysts and even himself after exchanges during the electric-car maker's earnings call sent shares tumbling.

In the call, Musk devoted 23 minutes in taking questions from a 25-year-old Tesla investor, Galileo Russell, who owns an YouTube investment channel called HyperChange TV.

Musk later called media stories questioning the safety of autonomy "outrageous". "Boring, bonehead questions are not cool".

Although the Model Y will sit underneath the Model X in Tesla's range as its second and smallest SUV, it would make sense for the manufacturer to market the Model Y as a Model 3 crossover rather than a smaller Model X, especially when the latest news from Musk is taken into account. Musk, though, had had enough.

"We've also found that there are some things that are very well suited to manual operation and some things that are very well suited to automated operation, and the two should not be confused", Musk said in reference to automation.

"These questions are so dry", said the serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Tesla's stock price tumbled in after-hours trading during the investor call.

Musk then gives several reasons for his unusual outbursts during the call, explaining the two people who asked questions weren't investors but analysts who "represent a short seller thesis", or people who back a strategy that bets against Tesla.

On Friday Musk tried to clarify some comments he made during the call, tweeting that he deemed a question about capital expenditures "boneheaded" because the answer was already given in a first-quarter newsletter. That's quite interesting given the company is still facing difficulties with the Model 3 production.

In response to RBC's "absurd" question regarding the percentage of Model 3 reservations that Tesla had started to configure, Musk said that Tesla has roughly a half a million reservations, despite no advertising and no cars in showrooms. "Even after reaching 5k/week production, it would take 2 years just to satisfy existing demand even if new sales dropped to 0", he said.

"I think, generally speaking, when CEOs are evasive around number questions, that is worrisome... when financial questions are asked, they should be addressed", he added. "It was foolish of me to ignore them", Musk wrote in a tweet. (TSLA) sank this week on concerns over its most recent earnings call, which some on the Street said was the most freakish they have ever experienced.